by C. Mahood
I knew I that this was my time to get away while the body guard was pre-occupied. I could see that the iron fitting at the end of the pole is what was stuck if I could loosen it then it would surly come free. I twisted the pole in a clockwise fashion. Both ends of the pole opened up and thin metal points came out either end. I gave the staff one last pull, I yanked hard and fast with all my energy to finally un-lodge it from its prison. As I did, the metal fixing snapped and I flew backwards, Like pulling on a rope that just unravelled or broke. The pole was so suddenly light in my hands and forced itself up and backwards. I yelled as I fell back with a jerk, the pig-snouted bodyguard turned to see what I was yelling about, just in time to see a spear that was once a simple staff shooting into his face. Once it punctured his eye it continued to drive in farther. It was not the most dignified death, an accidental death. What I would consider a convenient accident now but then was more shocking that I could ever imagine. My adrenalin was running so high, the fear of being captured by the biggest man I had ever seen, the shock of seeing a man hanged in front were nothing to the sheer terror and disgust I was feeling after impaling the face of a man I had never known.
His grip tightened as his body fell hard to the ground. Everything was happening so quickly now. The spear was loose again and rested in my hand as the body slammed into the dirt. The bewildered and shocked, moustached man in the red velvet screamed “thieves and murderers!” pointing at both myself and the hooded rogue. The rope had since snapped and the second body guard was on his feet, coughing and rubbing his throat before his eyes surveyed the scenario in front of him. He began towards both of us. I pulled my staff back ready to defend myself but the hooded figure had kicked the hand of this captor, freeing his cloak and began to run in the opposite direction.
Without thinking Tessa barked and charged off, following the green material down the winding path, under the legs of the onlookers and passers-by. My instinct kick in then. I didn’t think, didn’t assess just simply ran. I trailed my dripping spear as I ran after my dog. Waving my arms and screaming for people to move as I charged down the narrow street. To describe the voice I heard behind me is best explained as a combination of a blood curdling, fear inducing battle cry, mixed with a thunderous rumble you felt in your chest. The bodyguard behind had picked up speed and was in pursuit.
Look, I’m a big enough fella, bit of a belly on me and not as fit as I used to be, but by God, I had never run like that! Fear pushed me on. Fear of getting caught mostly, that’s obvious but also the fear of losing my dog. Apart from Sarah my wife, that dog is my best friend. I couldn’t risk losing her as well. The guard was gaining on me like a train blasting through hay bales. He left a wake of destruction as he chose his line and ran on target.
I had lost sight of both Tessa and the cloaked figure as we doubled back, heading uphill now. The surroundings resembled more of squalor now, rather than trade. We must have passed into a new district. Things looked, older, forgotten and uncared for. The walls dripped with what can best be described as grime. Black burn marks rose up most buildings, signifying the many pit fires held at night by the homeless I guessed. The crowd had thinned and I caught sight once again of the green cloak. Tessa turned every now and then to make sure I was following. I did the same to check on pig face. He was beginning to fade behind. The incline run up the cobbled street new was not working in his favour. He had more weight to carry of course and had been hanging by his neck only moments before so not really race ready. We turned tight corner after tight corner until we came to a strait, narrow, tunnel. The end was only slightly visible and it was a dead one. A curved roof was above us, the underside of a bridge. A single drain was at the end of the tunnel. Bars to wide to fit through and stained green with mildew and grime.
The figure had gone but Tessa stood with her face pointed towards a stack of crates. Square boxes stacked three high and three across. She was sniffing and nudging the crates with her nose, when she saw me she barked.
I could hear heavy footsteps behind me, getting closer and closer, every step was farther apart though. Pig face had lost all his energy and was walking now. I still didn’t want to be there when I came round the corner however. I pushed the crates slightly away from the wall and tried to slip in behind them. I pushed with my feet against the wall and my back to the crates I tried to make enough room for me to get behind. I had no other options. I had to hide with my dog on my lap and a spear pointed upwards ready to skewer the pig faced man when he tried to grab me. I settled back into the space, shuffling backwards. One hand feeling the wall behind me and the other holding the spear. I continued to back up as fast as I could, making sure to keep reaching for Tessa’s fur. Until suddenly there was no fur behind me. I heard a snuffed yelp that could only have come from Tessa. I feared the worst, until two small hands with fingerless leather gloves were wrapped around my neck and face. I had no time to fight because I was falling backwards into darkness and landed hard on wet slime and stone. I hit my head pretty hard. I can still feel the bump on my head even now. It more like a phantom bump really. Like someone who can still feel their toes after the foot has been amputated. It’s not really still on the back of my head but it feels as though it is. When I sat up my first thought was that I had gone blind. I could still hear shuffling around me and the sound of pig face kicking boxes and throwing crates above me. He sounded frustrated to say the least but mostly knackered. After chasing us through the back alleys and streets of Renir and to loose us in a dead end must be really annoying. What did I care though, we were safe, I think. There was no light and as I blinked my eyes the fear I had lost my sight was overwhelming. I tried to speak out but the fall had winded me and stolen any spare breath away. I put my hands in front of me to try and feel my surroundings but was startled by a wet, sloppy and smooth object slid across my face and nose. I put my hand up to my face to protect myself and check that my glasses were still intact. Luckily they were and the object was mearly Tessa’s tongue.
I was so relieved that it was her, not because I feared what else it could have been but grateful she was still alive. Before I was pulled back I heard a yelp from her. The kind you hear in computer games when a dog is killed. You know that sudden awful sound that makes your toes curl with disgust? Thank all the gods there are that she was still ok. I pulled her close and onto my crossed legs. She put her paws on my shoulders and continued to lick my face and hands. I rubbed her neck and back and patted her head the way I did after a long walk or before she was fed. The moment of affection passed quickly and suddenly however as she pushed of my chest and began growling in my direction. My eyesight had returned also. It just took a while for my eyes to adjust to the dark but it was slowly doing so and I could see where I was more clearly. The growl was a fearsome one, not one I had heard from her before. Usually she only growls at other dogs as the run towards me or when the postman’s florescent red jacket passed by the living room window. Those were just small growls, warning me and sometimes a yelp would be called. Even scaring herself if the front door was knocked suddenly, but never this deep, warning, fearsome growl. I knew it wasn’t directed towards me as I could feel a presence behind me. The memory of hands grabbing me just moments before flashed in my head and I had turned and scrambled backwards and towards Tessa quickly.
Crouching just feet in front of me was the Green cloaked figure that I had been following. The first thing that I noticed was the size of the person. We were both crouched down in the rain overflow storm tunnel but I could tell by the way the figure was sitting that he or she could be no more than 4 feet tall. The cloak was made from an itchy fabric. The kind that collected every particle of dust, stray, hair and fur that I came across. Now that I were up close I could see the detail on it. The trim of the cloak had woven black leather all the way round. It was sewn on with sloppy workmanship. There for practicality rather than show. It was more controllable with leather as it added weight to the cloak. It would also get caught on less if it had no loose th
reads. There were a number of holes repaired by patches of other dark material and more leather. Under the cloak was a black jerkin and black trousers tight under black boots and ankle protectors. You could say archery bracelets for the shins? Not quite football shin guards but not far removed from that design. The hood was still over the persons head as he or she edged slowly closer to Tessa and I with arms and hands outstretched in a non-threatening manner. I could still not tell if this was a male or a female it was too dark to make out and obvious features under the cloak.
Tessa still growled with threat and anger, she had moved directly in front of me. I was proud of that dog. Normally I would shout at her and discipline her if she were to behave like than in our world, but here it was instinct and I finally knew the answer to ‘ what would happen if it came down to it’ I used to think she would be frightened and cower behind me but I now knew that in real danger she would protect me!
The figure moved slowly forward still. Hands out stretched and open palmed. Before any more steps were taken the hood was removed. Long dark red hair fell from under it. Knotted and braided with beads of iron and bronze the hair touched the ground. The figure brushed the hair back over in a sweeping flick motion and grabbed it from behind tying it with a ribbon using only one hand. Obviously something this person was very accustomed to doing. Looking up I could finally make out the face. Two bright blue eyes shone out from a dark background of black fur. A protruding long nose sat forward with a white stripe running from between the eyes to a wet black nose at the end. The nose had a delicate silver piercing with a thin silver chain drooping down and back to the left pointed ear. Grey short fur covered the rest of the face and what other parts were not covered by the dark clothing. It was most certainly not at all what I imagined hidden under that hood. It seems like a cliché, A racoon dressed as a thief. A female, no more than 14 years old.
“Wow, wow, calm down girl” She said still edging slowly forward. She held her right hand out closer to Tessa’s face. It seems that it is a universal courtesy that everyone seems to do. Her fingers were human like but the parts exposed from the glove were of a grey fur. Her hands were not like human hands but paws that she held to Tessa’s face.
“Its ok beautiful, I wont harm you, you are of the Elder race. The first canines in Northland. I have never seen one as beautiful as you. Only paintings on cave walls, none compare to your beauty.” She bowed her head still with her hand outstretched. Either Tessa was un-threatened or flattery worked wonders on her. Either way Tessa edged closer to the outstretched paw from this female, raccoon like rogue and sniffed it, after a hesitant glance back towards me she licked the paw and moved over to sniff around her feet. The girl laughed a childish, excitedly giddy laugh and looked at me. Her face beaming with joy and a smile with no threat. Like the first time a child sees Santa clause at the shopping mall or opening presents on their birthdays. Pure happiness.
“she is beautiful” the girl said looking at me,
“Um, thank you? I suppose, I don’t really know what to say?” I awkwardly replied, at a loss of words I continued “She is my best friend….uh, thank you also for saving me, I was worried that boar man was going to get me. So thanks”
“No thank you” She replied “ If it were not for you taking down his partner I would have been killed, and I most certainly wouldn’t have got’n away with this!” She tossed a bag from paw to paw, clearly a money purse as coins jingled inside.
“It was an accident, I didn’t mean to hurt that man, I was simply trying to….” I began but noticed how Tessa had taken a shine to our new companion. She had her paws on the girls shoulders and they were touching foreheads the way she usually does with me or Sarah. It seemed odd to see her doing it with another canine. She caught me looking and very clearly I wore my confusion and fascination of my face like a red nose.
“I’m sorry to stare, its just, we have only been on Northland for a few days but I have never seen anyone look like you? Or that, uh, man for that matter. Your faces and hands, um, pardon me for asking and not harm intended, but, what are you?” I asked, I did not want to come across ignorant or, well, racist? Speciest? Trying to be sensitive in a situation I had never been in before.
The girl laughed and tilted her head to the right, the way Tessa did if I said something to her that she didn’t recognise. Well to be honest, basically any time I spoke to her with a sentence that didn’t include the word `walk?’ or `food?’ or even `ball?’
“oh the face? Haha right, right.” She put her hands on the top of her head, behind her pointed ears and pulled forward, a parting appeared on the top of her fur covered scalp and grew deeper as she pulled on her face, Red emerged and I cringed with horror until the red flair became recognisable as hair. Long ginger hair poured out from the top of her head, as the fur was puller further forward I could see pink, pale skin from underneath. She removed the mask and set it down beside her feet. Tessa seemed un-shaken, she didn’t even acknowledge any change, like someone removing a hat or a scarf. She had already known, her senses were much better than mine. I really should have guessed it, I mean I created this place right? Well, not really, the horrid truth settled on my mind like birds returning to roost. The only part of the city of Renir that I had created was the name and a little squiggle on the map. I had never worked it into Dertrid’s deed. My lack of knowledge was embarrassing. Like visiting France and knowing only three phrases in French. I should know more! I cursed that I hadn’t written more!
“Sorry?” the girl questioned as I muttered to myself in the darkness like a deranged schizophrenic. I snapped back to reality, well, this version of reality any way.
“Oh nothing, i’m just a bit taken back, I honestly believed that was your face, and that thing chasing us had a face of a pig, come to think about it, I could have sworn I saw people at the Rebels rest with faces of animals. Am I going crazy? I began to pace, while crouched, it wasn’t easy, I wanted to pace back and forth to make sense of it all but doing it underground doesn’t have the same mind-clearing ability I had hoped. Just a mind knocking one as my forehead met, and got well acquainted with every low baring brick in my general area.
The Redhead giggled and folded, stuffed, pushed and crammed the mask she had removed only moments ago into crack in the wall. Her voice was so familiar, like something from a computer game or a movie or something. I just couldn’t put my finger on it. I got the impression however that I tried to put my finger on anything, in her general area, I wouldn’t see them again.
“This really is your first time in Renir then?”
“Yes I swear, I really am a fish out of water here.”
“You had me fooled, the way you stuck that guard! Such a perfect shot, right in the eye. Couldn’t have done it better myself!”
“God, it was a bloody accident I had no intention of hurting him, it all just….happened!”
“Ok” She said with a mocking and sarcastic wink “I Believe you” She started to remove parts of her outer clothing, folding and stuffing what she could between more cracks in the stonework.
“So the masks, what is that about then?” moving slightly closer, Tessa’s fur in hand as she licked my wrist in acknowledgement that I was holding her.
“Its quite simple really, all the Guilds in Renir wear masks, it separates us and lets everyone else know who we belong to. For example, the guards we saw earlier, Pig faces. The traders usually wear masks of magpies, Fishermen are bears, farm workers wear masks of goats. Every guild has a mask, you see?”
“So what are raccoons then?” I snapped “Rogues, troubadours?” I questioned
“Nah, we just go by thieves.” She flippantly replied, not phased by my sharp attack.
“A guild of thieves? Oh come on, that’s ridiculous!” I laughed than thought that it sounded familiar but from something, or somewhere else entirely. I think I maybe read Terry Pratchet’s Discworld when I was in school? Could that have transferred here? I don’t know.
“Well we a
ren’t an official guild per-say, more of a group that profits so well we just kind of proclaimed that ourselves.” She laughed and squeezed the last of her stuff into the cracks in the walls and clapped her hands cleaning of the dust. “some of us are here and joined by choice, most of us however are like you.” She pointed in my direction and waved her finger up and down at me like she was trying to shake something off her nail. I Couldn’t help but wonder about what she meant by that? They were travellers, they had dogs, they had beards or beer bellies? I decided to go with lost and handsome. I’m sure it was at least one of those two. I had to ask though, not knowing kills me.
“What do you mean like me?”
“runaways, outlaws and murders!” Her eyes narrowed on mine after the last description left her lips. There was no denying, she had me sussed.
“But I’m not a…” I stopped before I continued with what was now going to be a lie. I may not be a runaway but I was officially a murderous outlaw. Not even a cool kind like batman or Robin Hood. It didn’t feel as great as it sounded in the movies or books, it felt wrong, shameful. The name didn’t fit me. Neither would tights for that matter. Especially green robin hood ones. Not worth thinking about really.
The girl smiled at me mid-sentence. “You are now all of those my friend, but you’re not alone, Come with me, let me introduce you to the others.”
Eight
Rat bottle pub
The girl had finished hiding her belongings in the cracks and filled up the holes with rubble and dirt. Patting it flat with the side of her hand and smoothing it with her fingers she took a step back, inspecting the work from several different angles. I suppose this is as good an idea as any for someone who most likely has nowhere permanent to lay her head at night, or as the case may be, during the day. I looked down just for a quick moment, looking for Tessa. She kept disappearing into the darkness, her white tufts of fur were stained black with dirt and soot from the tumble down into the low celling tunnels we were in now. She was spending her time patrolling the perimeter of where we stood, or in my case, crouched. Sniffing every corner, every out of place brick, every puddle and pretty much anything her nose could reach. Like a child in a sweet shop pointing at all the confectionery they wanted, usually all of them at once in a sweeping motion. Tessa was having the time of her life in this dank, dark, horrid chamber of new fascinating and unrecognisable scents along with indescribable and putrid tastes. I kept loosing her as she came in and out of my depth of vision the darkness swallowed her every few feet away. There was a moment of silence, I strained my eyes to try and make out the thin body, close to the wall, I could just about make out her four legs walking tight against the stonework and moving in my direction. I made a click with my mouth, the sort of double click people make when talking to horses. You know the kind? Two quick clicks, followed by a long kiss sound. We have all done it, don’t be ashamed. Suddenly with a flick, scrape and woosh a bright light appeared illuminating the room we were in. My pupils instantly shrunk from the light, like poking an anemone in a rock pool after a low tide. I recoiled like a vampire behind undrawn curtains in the height of the afternoon. Blinded for a moment I covered my eyes as they adjusted to the firelight. The girl had lit a torch with some timber and powder. Like a Cliché from a dungeons and dragons manual cover, it was a large 2x4 style log with a metal grate on the top with oil soaked rags wrapped around the larger end. I instantly felt the shallow heat Radiating from it and furthermore felt it die away and the air cool as the girl began to walk away from me without a word.